US presses Pakistan to lift travel curbs

ISLAMABAD - The United States has started exerting extra-pressure on Pakistan to withdraw the travel restrictions imposed on the Islamabad-based diplomats, ostensibly for their own security, and the recent visit of US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Marc Grossman is primarily focused on this issue. Sources in the government informed TheNation that during his meetings here Marc Grossman has made it clear to the Pakistani authorities that United States would not accept any travel restriction on its diplomats in the country and asked for their early removal. The sources further said that controversy over the travel restrictions recently imposed by the authorities for all Islamabad-based diplomats between the two countries grew to abnormal proportion and US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Marc Grossman has to come here especially to deal with the matter. The sources said that Pakistani side had tried to make the US officials realise about the volatile and precarious security situation in the country wherein it would be advisable for the diplomats to provide prior intimation about their movement anywhere in Pakistan so that they could be provided with the proper security cover in the face of precarious law and order situation across the country. The sources further informed TheNation that government had asked the United States to secure NOC from the concerned quarters prior to their movement anywhere in Pakistan and when the US Embassy had refused to do so, they were asked to simply give the names and destination of their diplomats in case of their movement inside Pakistan so that they could be provided with adequate security cover. But US officials were adamant that they would not accept any restriction on their inland movement and termed it against the Geneva Convention. Security officials here saw the insistence by the US government without any solid reason and said that in the past too due to lack of coordination between the two sides some unwarranted incidents had occurred and US diplomats were stopped moving without any intimation to the law enforcement agencies and also found carrying some sophisticated weapons with them. Security officials informed that they did not want to see incidents like Raymond Davis repeat in the country which would ultimately leave bad impact on the relations between the two states jointly fighting against the war on terror. These officials said that the travel restrictions were not US specific and it would apply on all the diplomats stationed in Islamabad but it was beyond comprehension that these restrictions were only irking the US diplomats and rest of the diplomatic community was least bothered. Sources aware of the discussion going on between the two states on the issues informed that America had made it clear to Pakistan that if these restrictions on the US diplomats movement in Pakistan would stay then they would going to impose such type of restrictions on the Pakistani diplomats in Washington.